


Rest

by frostios



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sharing a Bed, they do be talking about some of the shit thats happened to them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29384544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostios/pseuds/frostios
Summary: Nami and Cranberi separate from the group to hopefully get Joemin the help he needs. The others are just supposed to wait for them to return. Freedon and Barnaby worry.
Relationships: Freedon Gordman/Barnaby Calzone, Gorzone
Kudos: 7
Collections: Reincarnation





	Rest

**Author's Note:**

> had a wonderful and wild session last night so i was of course fueled to start writing this at 1am. here's the gist of what happened before this:
> 
> \- the gang took on the final boss's "second in command" (Uloun) who packed a wallop and almost killed Freedon  
> \- Freedon was cool for once and blasted her out of the window of a tower  
> \- Joemin finished her off at the bottom of the tower where he was having an inner war with himself. That he lost.  
> \- The others all meet up at the bottom of the tower and Cranberi and Nami realize something is wrong with Joemin that they knew somewhat about and get Barnaby to knock him out with a sleep spell  
> \- The two don't really explain much of what's going on because they also aren't 100% on everything but basically Joemin is possessed so they board Cranberi's giant cicada companion, Bo, and take off to try to ask their god ally Grithon for help  
> \- the rest of the gang board Kilgon's boat and try to put distance between them and the Tower until the others return
> 
> what you're about to read is basically a scene fill right after the group splits up with my player and how he and his partner feel about the events!  
> (Freedon (half-elf) Barnaby (halfling) Cranberi (tabaxi) Nami (water genasi) Joemin (half-orc) Kilgon (light elf) Kisia (minotaur))

Freedon watched as Bo carried Cranberi, Nami, and a sleeping Joemin off into the strange looking sky. He wrung his hands together, worry coursing through him. This thing with Joemin was... well, unexpected to him and Barnaby at least. Freedon felt a dull anger at the back of his mind at the notion that this had been basically kept a secret from the two of them this whole time. Even if the other's didn't fully understand it, it seemed like it would've been important enough to share it with the group. And Joemin had never seemed inclined to let the truth be known, either.

It caused the doubt that he'd been harbouring towards Joemin this whole time to grow. He had wanted to believe Cranberi and Nami whenever they tried to assure them that he was fine, but now there appeared to be no reason to trust the half-orc since he had been hiding such a huge thing from them all this entire time.

A tug on his sleeve broke his concentration from the sky (Bo and the others were long out of sight). He looked down at Barnaby who's expression appeared to share the same conflictedness and confusion Freedon felt.

"C'mon, we gotta put some distance between us and the Tower while they're gone." Freedon nodded but found himself glancing back to the sky. He heard Barnaby sigh beside him.

"I'm worried too, but there's nothing to be done about it now. Just gotta hope that they can get the help they need."

Freedon frowned. Would Grithon be able to help them once again? He had never really adopted any religion throughout his life but he remembered sending prayers to whatever god would listen during the hardest of days. He didn't know how long their partnership would last with Grithon, if they would eventually grow tired of them bumbling around and constantly needing assistance and guidance, but he supposes there's no other option but to put faith in them for as long as they could.

So Freedon closed his eyes and prayed for his friend's safety.

Once they were all on deck, Kilgon called Jammy over to begin setting a course, the two of them walking to the back of the ship together. Kisia sat down with a huff at the base of one of the ship's masts and leaned back against it. Whisper appeared (seemingly out of nowhere) beside her and watched as the minotaur began to sharpen her axe.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly hit Freedon, the events of their battle with Uloun catching up with him. The front of his chest ached from where Uloun's sharp blade-like arms sliced through him over and over again. He knew the wound was healed enough to not worry too much, but his brain wasn't able to catch up. Freedon stumbled slightly into Barnaby as the boat rocked against the sea.

Barnaby shot him a look, scanning his face for a moment. "Why don't we go rest in the cabins for a bit? You frankly look like the next breeze will do ya in."

Freedon didn't want to rest, though. He wanted to make sure Nami and Cranberi were safe wherever they went with Joemin. He wanted to go back up to the Tower and finish Linan off for good so that the world could return to some semblance of normal. He wanted to be done with this entire thing so that they could go back to the cozy life that they were just beginning to set up.

But there was no use in yearning for all of that right now, so he just nodded and let Barnaby take him by the hand and walk him to the lower level of the ship.

They were able to find a bunk that didn't look like it belonged to anybody pretty easily. The two of them set about shucking off their boots and armor. Freedon winced as he tried to lift his arms to pull his chainmail and thick undershirt off. Barnaby didn't hesitate to help. Soon Freedon was left standing there clad only in his thick trousers and socks with Barnaby in his much more comfortable looking shirt and pants. 

Barnaby's brow pinched together as he brought a hand to ghost over Freedon's new wound across his chest that would more than likely scar over. 

"'S been awhile since I've seen you get hurt that bad, Freedon."

"It's not terrible. Just aches. It should fade away after we get some sleep."

Barnaby didn't seem satisfied with that. He kept staring at the long slash, but his gaze just seemed so far away. 

Freedon lifted a hand to rest it against Barnaby's shoulder. The other man leaned into the touch and his expression broke a little. They sat in silence for a bit, Freedon waiting for Barnaby to collect his thoughts.

"It just. Brings back memories, y'know? Having you in my arms on the edge of death again. Never gets any easier." He took a shuddering breath. "And I can't get it out of my mind that this fight we want to take on with Linan will be the last thing we do. Uloun was basically a lackey and she still just about killed you in one go. I'm just terrified. Of losing anyone. Because it's such a real possibility."

"It's always been a possibility, Barnaby."

Barnaby scowled at him. "But this just highlights that fact even more so. We are sitting right outside this huge fight, knowing the odds stacked against us. Knowing that for some of us it might be the last thing we do. I hate feeling powerless towards it."

Freedon chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking. "We know what we're getting into. This...isn't an easy thing, but we're the only ones with the ability to stop it. If one of them didn't want to take this risk, they wouldn't be here. But, we're a team in the end. Going into it together is a much better option than not doing it at all."

Barnaby looked ready to argue more but then the fight left his eyes and he just looked exhausted. A familiar ache twinged at Freedon's heart as he once again took in the eyebags and gray hairs Barnaby had accumulated in his absence. So much time lost, and it looked more and more likely that their time together would be cut short again if Barnaby's fears came true. And there was the very real possibility that they would. 

"We should rest," Freedon signed. Barnaby gave a little nod but then went to dig around in Freedon's bag. Martinis popped out with a grumbling cluck as Barnaby tried to get at something under her. A genuine smile pulled at Freedon's lips as he crouched to greet the hen. She nipped at his fingers a bit before resting her head against his palm. 

Barnaby stepped over to them after he had found what he was looking for. He bent down and placed a handful of seeds down in front of Martinis which she happily began to peck at. Barnaby then straightened up and showed Freedon the shirt he'd grabbed.

"Lemme heal you up a bit more and then I'll help you with this. Don't want you to get sick cause you didn't wear a shirt despite how cold this fuckin' sea air is."

Freedon rolled his eyes but allowed Barnaby to place a warm hand against his chest, a soft glow surrounding it. The warmth seeped through him and into his bones and muscles, ridding them of the painful ache. A sigh of relief escaped him and that seemed to make Barnaby happier. He helped him with the shirt as promised (even though Freedon was more than capable of doing it himself at that point) and soon they were side by side in the bunk while Martinis wandered the room.

Freedon didn't immediately curl into Barnaby like he usually did these days. His mind still ticked with worry about the others.

"What do you think about the whole...Joemin thing?"

Barnaby grimaced. "I'm pretty pissed about it, not gonna lie."

"Me too."

"I never really trusted him. He's been too reckless, putting the others and us in danger cause he doesn't think. And now he apparently has been keeping a huge ass secret from all of us? There better be a good as hell explanation for it when they get back, or else I'm never leaving him alone with the others again."

Freedon nodded, staring at the wall. "When they get back."

A touch on his arm broke his far away focus and he looked back over at Barnaby.

"They'll be okay. As much as I'm worried too, Cranberi and Nami are smarter and stronger together. And who knows, maybe Grithon has another way to make everything magically better." He said the last part slightly mockingly, but they both knew how much they wanted that to be true. To have such an easy fix for something potentially dangerous.

Freedon tried to share Barnaby's hope, but something still felt so wrong about it all. And if things ended up as bad as they seemed, then none of them would be there to help. 

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "There's nothing to be done about it now." He repeated Barnaby's words with his hands.

Barnaby finally tugged him closer, wrapping his thick arms around his back. "You gotta rest, Freedon. You'll be no use to anyone if you don't get some sleep."

Freedon nodded slightly against Barnaby's neck, but they both knew sleep would be hard to come by until everyone was safe together once more.

**Author's Note:**

> if you see any mistakes no you didnt <3 thanks for reading mwah


End file.
